


As The City Burns

by Feathers



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Gen, avatar AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-03
Updated: 2013-07-03
Packaged: 2017-12-17 12:28:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/867555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Feathers/pseuds/Feathers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There were several crimes committed within the past few months. It started with a few odd robberies here or there. After a while, though, the murders began. They had experts, the Hunters, to examine these crime scenes and find those guilty. Most of the time, it was easy. They found the stolen property and connected dots between association and witnesses and times of the crimes. But recently, things got weirder. The cause of attack or death was nearly undetectable. There were no prints to be found. Victims would just be dead on the street with no clue as to how it happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	As The City Burns

**Author's Note:**

> It's Gen for now. Strong likelihood of violence in the future. Much more cursing is a given.
> 
> The characters are not listed in any particular order. They'll all get a spotlight or POV at one point, but other characters will be focused on more.

Burnie Burns paced back and forth in his office, on edge ever since his friends had been called out for a job. The land they had founded was young, and it was surprisingly large, having only just recently celebrating a decade of existence, but it was theirs. The population had grown immensely ever since day one. Perhaps not everything was going as well as he had hoped, but Burnie knew they had things under control.

Matt Hullum, his friend and co-founder, sat at the conference table, skimming through paperwork. This was why Burnie stepped down from leader and put Matt in charge. Instead of pacing, Matt just looked up at his friend with a small smile as he watched him wear a trail in the floor. “Remember to breathe,” Matt jested, eyes falling back to the documents in his hands. They were reports of crime in the capitol city. While there were very few, the actual cases were rather alarming. He only hoped they could find the culprits before too long.

Burnie finally stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face out the window and overlook the city. “They’ll be back any minute,” Matt assured him. Burnie took in a large breath and held it, trying not to panic.

 

There was a buzz at the door, and Kara Eberle let in Lindsay Tuggey, who looked distraught. Kara pinched her lips to the side in concern. They had worked together for years, and Kara had never seen her act like this; she was always so laid back. “You okay?” she asked, putting on a comforting smile. Lindsay didn’t even look at her, instead, staring at the ground with her hands shoved in her pockets. Kara wanted to call to her attention again, but didn’t want to nag her.

Barbara Dunkelman walked out of one the office doors into the lobby, papers in her hand, looking at them intently. “You guys know where Joel is?” Barbara asked, obviously not having noticed her bothered friend. “Burnie and Matt have been looking for him.” Lindsay’s head snapped up, a little caught off guard, probably having been deep in thought. Once she closed her jaw, the glaze over her eyes vanished.

“No, I haven’t seen him,” Lindsay stated with an awkward smile. Kara knew she was a new member of the Hunters, Lindsay and a few others having just joined them not too long ago. The job was an important one and the city expected a lot from them. They were kind of the authority in the capitol city, keeping people in line. But they were loved and respected by everyone. But Kara wasn’t jealous. She had her own responsibilities, as did everyone else that worked in Gōngjī Yáchǐ. They all loved this place, and they all loved their jobs.

The only thing she was worried about was the stability of their population. Things had grown so rapidly and the city had become so popular that people almost seemed as if they would fight to get in. “Why are they looking for him?” Kara inquired, trying not to side glance at Lindsay too much.

“Counsel meeting. Gus is already heading up,” Barbara said, finally looking up from her papers to Kara. “Burnie’s about to have a coronary or something.” The two girls chuckled, albeit solemnly, at their boss’ expense while Lindsay’s focus still seemed distant. Barbs noticed immediately, Kara saw as her smile fell. She walked forward and placed the papers on Kara’s desk. She looked over them quickly, taking note of anything serious. It was research on registered benders in the city, apparently. She didn’t know why, but her own name was highlighted, along with Ryan Haywood’s and Jordan Lowry’s. Something irked her about that, in the back of her mind, but she thought nothing of it really.

“You okay, Tuggs?” Barbara asked, picking herself up to sit on the desk.

Lindsay just gave a small huff of a laugh and shook her head. “Yeah, dude. I’m fine,” she answered, looking much more relaxed. “Just wondering what’s taking the guys so long.”

 

Michael Jones twisted and weaved through the air, palms hot to his sides as fire blasted from the air above his skin, not fully touching. He always felt a rush from flight, feeling as though the Earth was moving beneath him because he willed it too. Michael was always fascinated by earth bending.

The sun was rising above the horizon slowly, the trees of summer glowing in its light. While Michael hated waking up before the ass-crack of dawn in order to get a head start, he didn’t mind the view. Last night, they had made camp in a secluded area, organizing their plan of action as soon as they got to back to Gōngjī Yáchǐ. The land of Nǐ Guǎn had requested their presence for a job before sending them back home. It was a little weird, when he’d heard their request, but the Hunters were the best in the business.

Looking beneath him, he saw Jack Pattillo and Geoff Ramsey storming the land, moving earth beneath their feet as they charged forward towards the city. Watching them move their entire body in strong poses, marching without their feet ever leaving the ground. Distracted, Michael nearly crashed into the giant white fluffy tail in front of him.

 

Miles Luna ducked as a paper aeroplane swiped at his head, looking over to the culprit who just laughed. He retaliated by flicking a rubber band at Kerry Shawcross, who used a binder as a shield. Monty Oum, Chris Demarais, and Brandon Farmahini just watched, chuckling softly to themselves. The work load wasn’t that much today and Miles decided he’d have his lunch break early. Their jobs were money management, ideas for events, city organization. Paperwork. He thought it was mostly paper work. But they all loved working there. Especially Monty; that guy never slept, Miles swore.

“What do you think it is?” Kerry asked, knowing they all would understand what he was talking about. Chris leaned back in his chair, Miles swiveling in his chair to look and pay attention, thinking he had something valuable to suggest from the look of deep thought on his face.

“Not sure, really,” Chris just said with a shrug. Miles’ head slumped forward in defeat, laughing at himself for expecting any great wisdom from his friend. He was a smart dude, but things like this just wasn’t his area. But, then again, they all weren’t quite sure. They had ideas, but didn’t exactly want to voice them, afraid of calling any persons out.

“Could be an animal coming in from the forest,” Brandon chimed in, referencing the facts. These crimes were happening in the outskirts of the city, and didn’t really have any rhyme or reason. No patterns to discern.

“Animals wouldn’t do this,” Monty said, sounding a little frustrated. Miles’ understood though. None of them liked what was going on around the city. It was supposed to be a safe haven for them. Where benders and non-benders could come together, learn, work, and create together. Their entertainment productions is what got Gōngjī Yáchǐ its most recognition, and what made people yearn to move to this city. But they could only expand so much without stepping on the toes of other territories.

There were several crimes committed within the past few months. It started with a few odd robberies here or there. After a while, though, the murders began. They had experts, the Hunters, to examine these crime scenes and find those guilty. Most of the time, it was easy. They found the stolen property and connected dots between association and witnesses and times of the crimes. But recently, things got weirder. The cause of attack or death was nearly undetectable. There were no prints to be found. Victims would just be dead on the street with no clue as to how it happened.

Monty spoke up again. “Victims showed signs of arterial damage, as well as bleeding from most orifices. No other wounds.” Miles was upset, as well as everyone else in the office. The signs, no matter how vague, were clear in their cause. He knew that it was bad news, but just hoped they could find these people and stop them.

They were brought out of their slump by a loud thud from outside and a familiar laugh. Miles looked to Brandon, who smiled dimly. “They’re back,” Caleb said, leaning in the door to their group office. Kerry was already up and following Caleb out the door, the rest of them following close behind.

 

“For fuck’s sake, Gav!” Michael yelled, only slightly feigning his anger. “You nearly crashed your giant wrecking ball into the front door, dumbass.” The giant flying bison just looked around, looking as if he were smiling at thin air. Sometimes, Michael nearly thought it was as dumb as Gavin Free was. Gavin just laughed and hopped off his bison, landing softly on a cushion of air. Ryan followed suit, landing not quite as gracefully as he slowly slid down, gripping onto the bison’s tail for holds.

Jack, watching Ryan slip onto his ass, gave a good guffaw, Geoff snickering behind his hand. “Michael,” Gavin said in that typical annoying tone he always used when referring to his friend. “He’s still just a baby. You can’t-”

“Gav, he’s not a baby! He’s almost as old as you!” he yelled back. He was sidetracked by the front door opening and most of the staff walking out. Michael was immediately tackled by Miles and Kerry, Monty walking up to Gavin and ruffling his hair. The rest of the younger staff walked up to Jack and Ryan to give them a warm welcome back, Barbara jumping onto Jack’s back for a piggy back ride. Burnie looked a little nervous, followed by a concerned Matt as they walked over to Geoff and they started a quiet conversation.

“How was the trip?” Miles asked after they let go of Michael, looking way too excited.

“Boring as fuck,” Michael groaned, throwing his head back. It’s not that Nǐ Guǎn, was really that boring of a place. But it’s not like any of them could really go out and enjoy it. Too many meetings, and the need for secrecy. Not to mention not everyone out there was so bender-friendly.

“Did you bring me back any souvenirs?” Kerry giggled, avoiding the light punch that Michael soon gave him.

“No but, really,” Miles interrupted, smile faltering. “What’s the news from Nǐ Guǎn?” Michael understood that no one was really excited about what might happen, only that their friends are back. And Michael was glad to be back, too. He hesitated in replying, looking over to Geoff, seeing the Council discussing things in a more serious manner.

Drawing him out of his observation, Michael heard a voice he was probably happiest to here. “Glad to see you’re back,” Lindsay said, smiling with her arms crossed, trying to look aloof. Michael knew otherwise. He walked up to her and hugged her, picking her up for a quick spin. When he put her back down, kissing her on the cheek, he got a better look at her. She looked a little tense, and his stomach dropped.

For a moment, his voice was caught in his throat. He kept his hands on her arms, rubbing them soothingly. “Everything okay?” he coughed out, still trying to smile. He watched her mouth scrunch a little, which he knew she did when she was biting the inside of her cheek. But his fiancé just smiled and hit him on the arm, laughing it off.

“We’ll talk about it later,” she told him, looping her arms around his shoulders and leaning their foreheads together. Her ease calmed his worry, for now. When they kissed, he knew that no matter what, they’d be okay.

 

“So what’s the word?” Burnie asked Geoff, trying not to bite his fingernails. Geoff looked around, a little put off by the responsibility on his plate at this point in time. They would all come to know the situation at hand at one point soon, but he wanted them to appreciate this homecoming for at least a little longer.

So, he walked into the Capitol building, nodding for the Council to follow him. Before they go to the door though, Joel came running up, a wide smile on his face. “Heard you guys were back,” he exclaimed, belated as he gave Geoff a one armed hug, which Geoff happily returned. He began walking with Gus, Geoff, Burnie, and Matt as they made their way into the building.

Once they made it to the conference room, most of them taking a seat while Burnie and Geoff stood, Geoff wondered how in the hell they had come so far. It started with them just looking for a place to be accepted, and then became a city so vast, so powerful, so respected. And he was one of the people in charge. Things were easier before now.

One arm tucked under another, hand cupping his mouth in worry, he wondered how to word this. He didn’t like what Nǐ Guǎn was making them do, but that was the country capitol, and they were just one city. One city, so it was, with a rather large problem. Geoff made a note to remember to tell Griffon everything when he got home.

Looking at the others, Geoff scratched the back of his neck, frowning to himself. “I’m sure you guys kinda got an idea of what’s going on here, right?” One by one, they nodded. The scene made him want to punch a wall. Ten walls, at least.

“Blood benders?” Gus said, more so for clarification than an actual question. Geoff just gave a quick nod, feeling a bad taste in his mouth.

Joel looked at each of them curiously, before landing back on Geoff, his smile before having left no trace. “What are we supposed to do about it?” Joel asked, voicing the thought that was on everyone’s mind, but none of them would say. Geoff bit his lip. It needed to be said sooner rather than later. The way Burnie looked pretty much told him that the man would collapse if he didn’t speak up soon.

“They want us to bring in and interrogate any and all suspicious water benders, as well as folks not yet registered.” He gulped, crossing his arms. He didn’t feel comfortable in his own body right now, having those words out, hanging heavily in the air like poisoned ice falling from his lips.

A feeling of tension fell over the room. Burnie looked angry, leaning both palms on the table with his head drooped low. Gus and Matt looked exhausted. Joel stared at the table, mouth hanging open.  
This feeling made Geoff think back to the meetings in Nǐ Guǎn. It’s why they had been gone for so long. Negotiations were at a stand-still; the Hunters not wanting to take up the job, but the government liaisons not leaving room for any middle ground.

“They said that if we didn’t handle it ourselves,” Geoff explained, his voice becoming more quiet. There was a pressure on his chest and he only hoped that Millie didn’t take after Geoff’s mom. “That they’d send soldiers to do it for us.”

There was an odd scratching noise, and they all looked to the man as the metal of the table beneath Burnie’s hands crushed in on itself.

**Author's Note:**

> Comment for any support or suggestions. (Nothing too outlandish, ya weirdos.)
> 
> Hope you liked it?


End file.
